Tshwane Bahá’ís, and thousands of other Baha’i communities around the world will be celebrating the bicentenary of the birth of the Herald of their Faith, the Báb. This is a second major 200-year anniversary in the Bahá’í Faith and it follows a special period of activity that included the 2017 bicentenary of the birth of Bahá’u’lláh, the Founder of the Bahá’í Faith.
Tshwane Bahá’ís will be celebrating this historic occasion:
· Centurion on 17 November, 13:00, at Candlewoods Country Estate;
The bicentenary celebrations are not only events, they include activities generated at the grassroots level, which reinforce the Bahá’í vision of the oneness of humanity and empower the participants to contribute towards building better communities.
The Báb, whose ministry paved the way for the appearance of Bahá’u’lláh, was born in October 1819. The Báb proclaimed that He was the bearer of a message from God, destined to transform humanity’s spiritual life. The Báb’s call for spiritual and moral reformation, His attention to improving the position of women and His other teachings attracted tens of thousands of followers.
The Bahá’ís regard the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh as the most recent in the line of Messengers of God. The Universal House of Justice states: the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh “inaugurated a new stage in social evolution: the stage of the unification of the entire human family. The spiritual energies They released into the world infused a new life into every sphere of endeavour, the results of which are evident in the transformation that has occurred”.
The unity of humanity, as the Bahá’ís view it, is a unity in diversity rather than uniformity. It is not by suppression of differences that one will arrive at unity, but rather, by an increased awareness of and respect for the values of each culture, and indeed of each individual.
The Bahá’í Faith recognizes the divine origin of all the major world religions and honours and reveres their Founders. The Bahá’í teachings also include the elimination of all forms of prejudice; the equality of men and women, universal education; the elimination of extremes of poverty and wealth; the harmony of science and religion; and the establishment of a world federal system based on principles of collective security and the oneness of humanity.
Preparations for the bicentenary celebrations included offering of programs for moral and spiritual enrichment of individuals and their communities. The Baha’i community of Tshwane and others, globally, are working to give practical expression to the Bahá’í vision of building united, harmonious and morally upright communities. They welcome everyone to join hands with them in creating a just, united and peaceful world.
For feedback please contact: tshwane@bahai.org.za; or call 083 794 0819
Websites: www.bahai.org, www.bahai.org.za
